There are many organizations trying to protect rhinos from
poaching. The problem is that rhino horn is used in ancient homeopathic
medicines and potions and sell for $300,000 per horn wholesale. It is hard to
create costs that exceed this value to unethical poachers. We try with armed
guards, strict export controls, and international law enforcement efforts. But
it just scratches the surface.
I like some of the newer approaches that target demand.
One group is lacing rhinos with toxins that give humans
nausea, vomit, diarrhea, migraines, and more. It doesn’t harm the rhino at all
because the horn is isolated. It works so well because you don’t need to treat
very many rhinos. As soon as word gets out, people are afraid to buy the powders.
If there is no demand, the price plummets and there is no profit in poaching.
Another group is creating fake rhino horn powder and
flooding the market. Since rhino powder is just a placebo anyway, the powder
would work just as well. But the huge volume of supply makes the price plummet.
Also, if you knew that 90% of the rhino powder out there was fake, would you
risk spending $7,000 on a single dose of placebo? As much as I like placebos
(on both of my blogs), that would even make me hesitate. What are buyers
supposed to do, ask their illegal rhino powder provider for an FDA
certification of purity?
